Position Overview:
GMO seeks to add a senior attorney to its Legal Team. The Senior Legal Counsel – Advisory and Intermediary Lead serves as a trusted legal advisor to the firm’s investment, client relationship, business development, and distribution teams. This role is responsible for providing strategic legal counsel across client advisory matters, intermediary relationships, and regulatory requirements, with a particular focus on complex investment mandates, distribution agreements, and global client structures. As a senior member of the Legal Team reporting to the General Counsel, this role partners closely with internal stakeholders to support asset growth, client retention, and regulatory compliance across U.S. and non‑U.S. markets. Over time, the successful candidate will, among other responsibilities:
- Serve as the primary legal advisor on complex institutional client matters, including negotiation of investment management agreements, guidelines, fee arrangements, and bespoke side letters for U.S. and non‑U.S. clients;
- Lead legal support for intermediary, model‑delivery, and distribution relationships, negotiating and structuring agreements with registered investment advisers, wirehouses, private banks, and platform partners;
- Partner closely with Investment, Client Relationship Management, Business Development, Operations and Product teams to deliver commercially pragmatic, risk‑aware legal advice that supports asset growth and client retention;
- Lead analysis and governance of fee arrangements, “Most Favored Nation” analysis, and affiliation rules to ensure regulatory compliance and risk mitigation; and
- Review and provide final legal sign‑off on RFP responses, due diligence questionnaires, and client‑facing disclosures.
Required Skill Set:
- JD with a minimum of 5-10 years legal experience.
- Experience advising asset managers, investment advisers, or financial services firms on client, fund, and distribution matters. Prior in-house experience preferred.
- Exceptional negotiation skills, with particular expertise in complex investment agreements, side letters, and intermediary arrangements, and ability to balance commercial objectives and regulatory obligations.
- Strong working knowledge of the Investment Advisers Act, as well as other U.S. and international regulatory frameworks applicable to asset management and distribution.
- Proven ability to operate independently while serving as a senior advisor to cross‑functional stakeholders.
- Excellent communication skills (oral and written).
- Excellent listening skills.
- Analytical clarity and creativity.
- Lateral thinking and communication.
- Practical solutions in the face of business tradeoffs.
- Enthusiastic.
- Strong organizational skills – ability to take responsibility for and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously.
- Ability to consistently demonstrate sound judgment and the highest level of ethics and integrity.
- Strong financial product development experience and knowledge.
- Demonstrated ability to mentor others.
- Knowledge of tax related concepts helpful but not required.
- Love of the law and intellectual curiosity.
- Tenacious with the ability to move quickly and follow through on commitments.
- Strong work ethic and the ability to hold yourself and others to the highest standards.
Skills Required
- JD with a minimum of 5-10 years legal experience
- Experience advising asset managers or financial services firms
- Exceptional negotiation skills
- Strong working knowledge of regulatory frameworks
- Demonstrated ability to mentor others
What We Do
For more than 40 years, GMO has partnered with a broad range of sophisticated institutions, financial intermediaries, and families to provide the investment expertise they need to meet their goals and fulfill their missions. Investing on behalf of our clients is GMO’s sole focus. Across asset classes and around the world, our investment teams identify and exploit long-term opportunities and develop solutions that both anticipate and respond to client needs. GMO is comprised of a collection of investment teams with focused specialties. All are grounded in a long-term, valuation-based investment philosophy – an approach we believe provides the best risk-adjusted returns. GMO partners with an impressive roster of sophisticated clients worldwide, delivering innovative investment solutions and tailored client service. Our clients benefit from our diverse expertise, intellectual curiosity, and open culture of debate, as well as from our ability and willingness to take advantage of contrarian market opportunities. For important disclosure information please visit: https://www.gmo.com/americas/terms-and-conditions/
